UK nanny state gets worse

A team of firefighters slept in the wrong place–on the floor with sleeping bags instead of some fancy new reclining chairs.

Firefighters in Greater Manchester are facing disciplinary action over claims they slept on a station floor instead of their new reclining chairs. Three men, based in Bury, are being investigated for “involvement in the use of unauthorised rest facilities”.

It is claimed they broke regulations by using sleeping bags on the floor rather than the £400 chairs.

The chairs were installed as part of modernisation programme to replace all beds in the region’s 41 fire stations.

The Fire Brigade Union (FBU) said the men were all asleep as a team of inspectors from the fire service carried out a spot check one morning at 0630 BST.

It gets better:

The service bought more than 300 of the chairs last year after chiefs decided to remove beds from dormitories across the region.

But firefighters were not allowed to sit or lie on the devices before reading a four-page health and safety manual.

Are you kidding?